


Arthur's Breaking Point

by brendonstitties



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games), Red Dead Redemption 2
Genre: Because i was trying to be nice, But someone called me racist and transphobic, Enough of that, For a comment i made about how Arthur Morgan may or may not have Autism, I did this on Tumblr, Ill make a story about a trans character later im in that mood lmao, So im done with tumblr, Tags, enjoy this shit, he finally done with that shit, uhh Arthur flips tf out at Grimshaw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-09 17:16:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18642541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brendonstitties/pseuds/brendonstitties
Summary: Arthur finally snaps and leaves camp, worrying everyone he left behind.Later his horse flees and he is stuck in the snowy mountains with his regular outfit and a hunting jacket on, fighting for his life with every step.Will he survive or we he find his untimely fate?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so uh this might be three or four parts, idk.  
> But as you read this was on my Tumblr at first, but someone made a post about Arthur Morgan being autistic, and naturally I had to debunk that theory like i do with any and every video game theory. I pointed out some things in a peaceful manner, and then the person commented and blocked me right after so I couldn't see it, and now i can't see one of my favorite blogs. So they called me racist and transphobic (which literally had nothing to do with the conversation) and then proceeded to bash me to my own followers. Okay so I'm done with that. I officially quite Tumblr and now all my work will be on here, besides you guys actually bother to read my stuff, everyone criticizes me on Tumblr. So much hate and negativity, Arthur Morgan would be ashamed.  
> So im gonna repost this on AO3 and leave my Tumblr sitting.

((So, I'm playing RD2 at 3:30 a.m., right? I just donated a little over $60 in the camp funds, and i stocked us up on food an medicine and got Dutch a new setup. As I'm leaving to make more money, MISS GRIMSHAW waltz's up to me, and has the nerve to tell me she has "noticed" that Arthur hasn't been putting in the box lately. He shrugged it off and said he would, but honestly i was P I S S E D. so this is a lil snippet of how i believe Arthur should've reacted :D enjoy!))

((P.S., if my writing is bad please forgive me! I'm still a beginner at fanfic, which is why I'm writing this, to get my skills up. If something is wrong, or you noticed something that's a little mixed up, please let me know so i can improve 😭😭))

All day, Arthur had been snatching saddlebags and robbing stores in Valentine, causing havoc in the town but also not being identified thanks to his new and handy sack hood. $60 and a whitetail buck was all he could muster up, but it was rewarding to know he could feed people at camp.

Upon entering camp, Arthur noticed how everyone had been gathering around the stew pot, looking as if they hadn't eaten in days.

Getting off his horse, Arthur proudly lugged the deer off, trudging over to Pearson's wagon to hook it up, earning a shocked look from him but not a single glare from anyone else.

Sometimes, it felt as if he were underappreciated. And it showed, too.

Arthur just sighed, now a hopeless wreck from all that hard work he'd been doing today, but still happy enough to donate to camp.

Stuffing the remainder of his money into the tithing box, Arthur huffed, smiling fondly when Dutch gave him a thumbs up and a "good job, son.", making him feel almost instantly better.

Then as he was leaving, Miss Grimshaw approached him.

"Mr. Morgan..." She started, hands on her hips.

"Yes Miss Grimshaw?" Arthur sighed, his arms hanging effortlessly alongside his hips.

"I've noticed that you haven't been putting as much money into the camp funds... And well..."

"I'm sorry, miss... Just been busy with things.. You know? I'll make sure to donate more often, i promise." Arthur answered, almost sounding like he was just ready to collapse on his cot.

"Well, promises don't keep us fed Morgan." Miss Grimshaw finished hastily, ready to stomp off had it not been for Arthur's loud and annoyed "godammit woman!"

Everyone at camp had heard, their heads turning to the pair, wondering what would happen next. Of course, Abigail covered Jack's ears and walked him off to read a book with him.

"Almost every goddamn day i come into camp with a buck on my back and rabbits on my side!" Arthur seethed, all his bottled up anger finally pouring out.

"Well then you must bring in ghost animals, i don't see us being fed properly and the lot of us are hungry!" Miss Grimshaw had tried to bite back, visibly making Arthur even MORE angry.

"DON'T YOU TALK TO ME ABOUT HUNGER! YOU AIN'T EVER SEEN HUNGER, NOR WILL YOU EVER SO LONG AS I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!" Arthur hollered, finally fed up with his (bullshit) camp.

"I slave for you all, i give you all my shares, i buy you chickens, horse posts, i even bought Dutch a new livin' space! I feed you, put medicine in your mouth, and bullets in your guns!" Arthur rambled on, his voice hoarse and hollering throughout camp. As he was yelling, he had been over at his space packing his things into a bag that he would just hook to his horse's saddle to get out quickly.

Muffled voices had tried to drag him back into camp, to talk to him and reason with him, but there was no reasoning.

If they weren't grateful for him and his deeds, they clearly didn't need him.

As he attempted to climb onto his horse, he felt a hand grab his arm, preventing him from running off. It was John.

"Because you never ask. You never care about me- goddammit you didn't even care about your kid or baby momma, leaving for a year!" Arthur bit back, making John jump slightly.

John had a hurt expression on his face, looking as if Arthur had ripped his heart of of his chest and threw it on the ground.

The rest of the camp could do nothing but watch as Arthur broke down in front of them, they watched as he sobbed and screamed, his body trembling at every word that escaped his mouth.

"I'm outta here. You don't need me- and i see it." He had finished, after arguing with a hurt John.

Arthur hopped onto his horse, completely ignoring John, he even thought his horse trampled his foot as he rode off quickly. Part of him wanted to go back to make sure he was okay- but he knew if he did he'd be sucked right back into camp, the exact opposite of where he wanted to be right now.

He was sure at this point Dutch wanted to exile him, to disown him and tell him he wasn't his son, but he couldn't help but love the man he considered to be his father. They had been through so much together, and it was a genuine shame it had to end like this. But Arthur stood up for himself, something he had never done. He never knew how to love himself, or stand up for himself, but seeing how everyone had reacted, he learned quickly.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John has been looking constantly for Arthur for three days, despite what the man had said to him in an angered manner. He knew he probably didn't mean it, but he had to save Arthur, to make sure he was okay and not permanently mad at him.  
> He just hopes Arthur is okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second part, third might be out sometime today or tomorrow. Please stay tuned!

Arthur had just kept riding until he couldn't anymore, his horse getting exhausted to the point where it had reared him off unexpectedly in his blind rage, leaving him stranded in the snowy woods.

"Goddamn stupid horse!" Arthur cursed as he watched the horse ride off, his body shivering from the cold. He only had on his everyday outfit and a hunting jacket on, that was it.

Adjusting his hat, he decided to just find a small spot to make camp so he could warm himself up and eat whatever he had left in his large satchel.

Sitting down in the shade of the trees on the bottom of a cliff, Arthur had made himself a cozy little fire, using the buckskin from earlier as a blanket to cover him.

All he could scavenge from his satchel was a can of strawberries, some coffee and a little bit of salted beef, something that could hold him over until the next day.

Maybe standing up for himself wasn't so much worth it…

He already missed Preston's crappy but very warm stew and the constant noise that had kept him sane inside the camp. Here, all it was, was complete silence and the occasional chirping of the birds.

Laying down with a shaky sigh, Arthur curled himself into a ball, placing his hat over his head and pulling the rather large buckskin over him, slowly drifting off and hoping he was able to wake up the next day.

************

John had been worried sick about Arthur since he had ridden off, now not coming back for a solid three days now. Arthur would've at least given them a notice he was alive, and they would've most certainly found him in one of the many towns in one of the many hotels.

John, Dutch, and Sean had scoured each state, looking carefully in each town and even riding around in the woods. They found absolutely nothing.

Now John was getting frustrated. He couldn't find Arthur, so he couldn't think straight. All he could think about was if the man was okay, and hoping to God that he wasn't dead.

Miss Grimshaw deserved every bit of what she got, she never paid attention to anything Arthur did, which is why she always bugged him about the camp and resources.

As of now, everyone had been ignoring her and pushing her aside completely, and if she asked one of the girls to do something they'd blow up and tell her to do it herself.

John sighed as he scribbled nonsense into his torn up journal, trying his best to write out how he felt but rage quitting after he couldn't spell something.

Getting up, he grabbed the bottle of gin sitting on his beside (or cotside) table, taking a big swig before setting it back down and exciting his tent, heading straight for his horse instead of the stew pot like everyone else.

"Hola, Buenas tardes amigo. Going to look for Arthur again?" Javier greeted, his expression and overall attitude neutral, unlike John.

"Yeah, you coming with?" John had asked as he approached his horse, hesitantly handing Javier a rifle.

"Yep. I miss him too. I really feel bad about how we treated him..." Javier answered, his expression quickly turning sad.

"We can't think about that now... We have to focus on getting him back, for all we know he could've been kidnapped by O’Driscolls again... Let's hope not."

************

Arthur woke up to none other than the freezing cold temperatures, just the way he felt had shown he had slept longer than one night. His fire was completely out, and it seemed that a snowstorm was coming, and soon.

Arthur quickly got up and packed his things, shivering as he made his way down to barren trial that had very, very faint hoofprints on it. Even if it led to nowhere, it didn't hurt to follow them.

As he followed the prints for almost twenty minutes, he came across Colter, the place where the group had taken camp when they first escaped Blackwater, and where they had lost their friends.

Arthur hurriedly made his way into the cabin where his old room had been fixed up, and just the memory made him feel guilty. His camp, instead of thinking about themselves, had given Arthur his own living space and comfy bed, in each camp they had been in. They made sure he had food, and anytime he was very dirty Miss Grimshaw made him sit down and wash himself like a mother would.

Tears rolled down his cheeks at the memory, but he quickly sniffed and wiped them away as he prepared another fire. He could hear the howling wind of the snowstorm, knowing that it was going to be a pretty long night.

************

John had followed a lead of someone seeing a "distressed cowpoke" running directly for the mountains, and sure enough as they had entered the snowy terrain Arthur's horse was on the ground, bloody and closing towards death.

Javier quickly hopped off his horse, grabbing a bottle of horse reviver and scurrying to the wounded creature.

"Looks like wolves got him. If we would've been any longer he wouldn't be moving right now." Javier mumbled, patching up the horse as best he could. The creature slowly got up, but hung it's head low as it stood.

"... You reckon Arthur's okay?" John had asked after a brief moment of silence, getting a silence from Javier before he spoke abruptly.

"At this point, i don't know. The blood on the saddle could be Arthur's, but let's hope not. For now, let's follow the trail and keep his horse behind us in case we find him." Javier said, rather quietly this time. It seems that he was running out of hope for his friend.

John shot the other a worried expression, but proceeded to get onto his horse and slide his big jacket on, riding into the seemingly endless snow.

After riding for what seemed like hours, John and Javier had come across footprints, they looked like they were recent but almost swept away by a storm. That's what they used to get to Colter, a place they really never expected to be again.

"Arthur? Arthur! are you here?" John had yelled upon entering, Javier quickly joining in.

They knew he was here, but they were afraid to find out whether he was alive or dead.

"Let's scout the buildings. Maybe he's in one of them." Javier said after a moment, hopping off and hitching his horse along with John.

"Got it." John said blankly, sucking in a deep breath to prepare for the worst.

Building by building, they had scoured the place for Arthur. Finally, they hit the last building, which was Arthur's old room when they were camped there.

Busting open the door, John was surprised to not see Arthur sitting in the center of the room, but once he entered the back room his heart dropped.

There Arthur was, hunched under a broken window with his face covered in icicles, wrapped up in old blankets and skins.

"Javier! Javier, Javier get over here now!" John hollered, racing to Arthur's side, his hands shaking as he reached up to cup the man's face.

"Arthur, Arthur hey its John. C-Can you hear me?" John rambled, his voice quivering with fear of the worst. But his fear had subsided upon hearing his name being weakly said.

"John... You came..." Arthur wheezed, his voice sounding strained, as if he hadn't been able to keep himself warm all these days.

"Shh... Of course i came... I'm not letting you just storm off out of my life like that, you idiot. Please don't ever do that again." John pleaded, taking his own coat off and moving the thin blankets out of the way to wrap his coat around Arthur, who seemed most appreciative of the gesture.

"Jesus- i heard you John what's- ARTHUR!" Javier yelped, his surprised expression twisting with joy as he approached the man.

"He's okay... Thank God. But we need to get him to camp before he freezes to death." Javier continued, pulling out his already half-opened bottle of gin, holding it to Arthur's lips, who graciously took a swig. "That'll help keep you warm until we get you to camp."

John and Javier heaved Arthur up and they each held an arm, carrying him out of the cabin and to the horses, making sure to carefully set him on his own horse.

“Let's get you home, Arthur.”


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur clearly isn't right, he can't talk straight and John is trying to get them all back in one piece.  
> Javier was mostly leading them, John keeping watch on Arthur to make sure he didn't faint or black out, although every other second John found himself keeping Arthur upright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, no one of great importance dies 😂😂

Arthur was in and out of consciousness, his body was exhausted and he felt cold and hot at the same time, just overall shit.

He could tell John was really worried, but anytime he'd try to talk his words came out jumbled and he would eventually give up. 

After their long journey to Strawberry, John had to rent a room because Arthur needed rest in a nice warm bed.

"Are you sure you don't want me to look after him?" Javier had asked, getting a subtle nod from John, who had Arthur hanging onto him as they walked up the hotel stairs.

"No, no I got it Javier. Go back to camp and let everyone know he's safe." John answered, getting a smile and a "got it" from Javier, who made sure to say goodbye to Arthur before he rode off.

Getting a weird glare from the hotel clerk, John bought a bath for him and Arthur, and a room for the night.

He found himself helping Arthur, undressing him but getting quickly cut off when a girl had stopped by and offered to do it. John felt a little embarrassed by the action, but he didn't mind.

After getting cleaned up and changed, John lay down next to Arthur in bed, sighing as he closed his eyes.

Today had been a long day, and he was sure Arthur was feeling better and happy to lay down.

As he was starting to drift off, John felt Arthur's arms wrapping around his waist, maybe it was unconsciously but at first, John had stiffened up, but eventually grown to like the feeling.

He always knew he liked Arthur a little more than he knew he should, but the fact that he was literally spooning him now made him feel... weird. In the good way, though.

 

*******

In the morning, of course John was tangled in with Arthur, and they seemed to be wrapped around each other. John had somehow turned around, his face laying gently on Arthur's chest as the other slept peacefully.

John, not wanting to ruin the moment, just closed his eyes and enjoyed it, because he never knew when he'd get another moment like this.

Eventually though, Arthur had woken up, yawned and sat up carefully, grunting as he rubbed his eyes.

John sat up, still tired as Arthur, but he was set on getting home quickly.

 

After a brief but awkward dressing, the two were out of the hotel and on the road within two hours, stocking up on foods and medicine for when Arthur got back to camp to recover.

As they came back to camp, Arthur had his head down, mainly because he still felt drained, mentally and physically.

Everyone stood quietly, some of their own heads bowed in silence as Arthur came into camp. Everyone felt guilty for him, because they were fully aware of how much work Arthur did, but they never thought he felt the way he did.

John had slowly taken Arthur off his horse, slowly bringing him to his tent, surprised at how much stuff people had given him.

Hair pomade, canned strawberries, peaches, corn beef, chocolate, candies, everything anyone could ever hope for was there, including a "special" pot of soup Preston had made for Arthur to show his appreciation. It wasn't the best, but it really was the effort that counted.

After everyone had given their heartfelt apology (Dutch and Hosea made him tear up, they both had a change of mind and they decided they were not doing any more robberies or thefts, because of what it did to the group.

That discussion definitely saved everyone in the group a lot of stress.

At the end of the night, John was by Arthur's bedside, talking to him about nothing and everything, which kept Arthur's mind off of his aching body.

"You know John... I never thanked you. You saved my life out there." Arthur rasped, smiling as he spoke to John.

"Javier helped too. We were just doing what we were supposed to do for you, we love you Arthur... Don't ever think we don't. We will start showing our appreciation more... You can bet that for sure." John replied with a smile, taking hold of Arthur's hand and rubbing it softly.

"I love you too, John."

And with that, Arthur had realized he didn't need Mary Linton or any other "match" ot "fling" he ever had, he had the perfect soulmate for him all along.

Now he just had to prove that he wasn't a bad man anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this felt rushed, i wrote it in like 20-30 mins :')


	4. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur clearly isn't right, he can't talk straight and John is trying to get them all back in one piece.  
> Javier was mostly leading them, John keeping watch on Arthur to make sure he didn't faint or black out, although every other second John found himself keeping Arthur upright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, no one of great importance dies 😂😂

Arthur was in and out of consciousness, his body was exhausted and he felt cold and hot at the same time, just overall shit.

He could tell John was really worried, but anytime he'd try to talk his words came out jumbled and he would eventually give up. 

After their long journey to Strawberry, John had to rent a room because Arthur needed rest in a nice warm bed.

"Are you sure you don't want me to look after him?" Javier had asked, getting a subtle nod from John, who had Arthur hanging onto him as they walked up the hotel stairs.

"No, no I got it Javier. Go back to camp and let everyone know he's safe." John answered, getting a smile and a "got it" from Javier, who made sure to say goodbye to Arthur before he rode off.

Getting a weird glare from the hotel clerk, John bought a bath for him and Arthur, and a room for the night.

He found himself helping Arthur, undressing him but getting quickly cut off when a girl had stopped by and offered to do it. John felt a little embarrassed by the action, but he didn't mind.

After getting cleaned up and changed, John lay down next to Arthur in bed, sighing as he closed his eyes.

Today had been a long day, and he was sure Arthur was feeling better and happy to lay down.

As he was starting to drift off, John felt


End file.
